Clarkson University students sort through trash

POTSDAM  Clarkson University students got trashy on the front lawn of the student center Wednesday.

The schools Sustainability Week brought students outside sorting through an entire days worth of garbage in front of the center Wednesday afternoon.

Susan E. Powers, an environmental engineering professor at Clarkson, said this is the second year theyve held a garbage sorting session to spread awareness about how much trash they produce and how well they do getting solid waste in the right places.

We are trying, especially in the eating facilities, to separate trash that goes to a landfill, recyclables and food waste, she said. Its to learn how well we did.

Ms. Powers is part of Clarksons Institute for a Sustainable Environment, for which she helps coordinate cross-campus sustainability initiatives.

Michael S. Donovan, Albany, is a chemical engineering major in his junior year at Clarkson. He spent part of his Wednesday sorting through the trash.

A lot of people just dont know what is and isnt recyclable, but now theyll have a better chance because everyone walks by here and will see whats happening, he said.

Jonas Z. Ebert, a sophomore and biology and psychology major at Clarkson, said that although he doesnt really enjoy sorting through other peoples trash, it needs to be done to show what can be recycled.

Its a mixture of apathy and ignorance, he said. A lot of the coffee cups are recyclable but people just throw them out because they dont know what to do with it.

Ms. Powers said that some students helping to sort the garbage are from her classes and are working on semester projects that have to do with solid waste.

One group is looking at how many coffee cups we use on campus, she said. Our coffee cups are recyclable, but theyre going to look at how many were in the trash as opposed to recycled.

Another group of Ms. Powerss students were looking into how many paper disposable to go boxes were used.

Ms. Powers said one of the biggest finds last year was all the ice that was thrown away in Pepsi cups.

We pay for our solid waste management by the pound, she said. If that goes in a plastic bag and the plastic bag doesnt break before it goes in a dumpster, we are paying to send water to a landfill.

Ms. Powers said that the college age is a great time for students to set up life-long habits that support a sustainable lifestyle.

There are academic reasons to learn about this, but theres also reasons to be a person who can live a little lighter on the planet, she said. Its good for us to send our students out as citizens and voters who understand the issues with solid waste or energy.

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